It Changed On Floor Three
by AgentFraniJones
Summary: "We're going to be fine, you and me". When someone new enters McGee's life the team do their best to help him. Just as Tim starts getting used to it he finds that his new role comes with a lot more problems than just having to wake up in the middle of the night.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm Alive! As promised, here I am, back again in early March. This is a story I started a while ago, it was another option for my first story "She's McGee's?" but I wrote a few chapters then decided to try something else as I found it wasn't working. Now, I've edited it, continued writing and given it a new title. This is basically a story to keep me writing while I plan and work on some bigger stories, so don't expect this to be brilliant. ENJOY! (NCIS is not mine... maybe. Kidding, it's definitely not mine)**

**Chapter One**

Ziva glanced at McGee's desk for the eighth time in two minutes just a she turned back she saw Tony do the same thing. It was nine o'clock and Tim was officially late. Even though starting time for agents on a non-case day was nine the members of Gibbs' team were usually all there by eight thirty.

"I'm going to call him," Tony said. He picked up the phone and dialled Tim's number. After a couple of seconds he put it down. "There's no answer."

Ziva picked up her phone and dialled. "McGee, it is Ziva. Call Tony and I when you get this."

"We're probably over reacting right? He's probably just stuck in traffic," Tony said.

"Yeah... probably."

They worked in silence for twenty minutes, occasionally picking up the phone to try and call McGee, until Gibbs walked in. "Where's McGee?" he asked.

"We don't know Boss," Tony replied.

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

"We have called him several times Gibbs, he has not answered," Ziva replied.

"Then trace his cell,"

Tony typed in Tim's number into the computer. "Boss... he's at Washington HC."

The team immediately gathered their belongings before heading towards the elevator. In the car park they got into the sedan and began their journey to Washington Hospital Centre.

"We would have got a call if anything had happened, yes?" Ziva asked.

"We should have," Tony replied.

When they got to the hospital they parked as quickly as they could and rushed inside.

"We're looking for Timothy McGee," Gibbs told the receptionist.

She typed something into the computer. "We have no Timothy McGee registered as a patient. Are you sure you got the right hospital?"

"He might be a visitor. Do you keep a record?"

"Yes, let me check," the receptionist pulled a large book off the bench and began to look through it. "A Tim McGee signed this at four thirty this morning... according to this he should be on floor three, I suppose that explains what he was doing here at four thirty. Take the elevator to floor three and ask the nurses there if they've seen him."

Gibbs thanked here and began to make his way to the elevator, which gave Ziva no time to ask what exactly was on floor three. She followed Tony to the elevator. Inside, it was written next to each button what was on each floor. When Ziva read what was on floor three she became even more confused. What on earth was Tim doing on floor three? She was about to voice her question out loud when the elevator doors opened. The three of them stepped out and made their way to the desk near by.

"Can I help you?" the nurse asked.

"We're looking for a man visiting here," Gibbs replied.

"He's about my height, skinny, green eyes, name's Tim?" Tony prompted.

"Ah, young Tim. That man's been here all morning with Eliza and Samantha," the nurse said, beckoning for them to follow. "He and Eliza have been arguing a bit though and he also had quite an argument with Eliza's boyfriend. I asked him to leave of course. Now, he's just around the corner. If he's not there try room 316 or 319, if you reach Doctor Quinnell's office you've gone too far."

Before they could ask why Tim was there, who Samantha, Eliza and Eliza's boyfriend were or why they were arguing, the nurse left. They walked around the corner and stopped when they saw Tim standing in the corridor with a woman. She had black, wavy hair tied in a bun, tanned skin and reached Tim's shoulder height-wise. She clutched a brown duffel bag in her left hand and was using her right to poke Tim's shoulder. Tim looked tired; his hair was messy and he was wearing a T-shirt and faded jeans. He was also holding something close to his chest. If they listened carefully they could here what they were talking about.

"You just don't understand Tim."

"Understand? You're right, I really, really don't understand. Why?"

"You know why"

"No I don't, because every time I've asked since I got here you've avoided the question."

"I can't Tim, I just can't"

"Oh, well that makes sense."

"Would you stop with the sarcasm?"

"Look Eliza, I don't really care why, it's your choice. But some notice would have been really nice."

"What do you want be to say Tim? Sorry? I regret it? Because I don't regret last year. And I'll still be around. I can help out a little."

"I don't think that's a good idea. And I don't really want to see you again."

"Tim"

"Bye Eliza"

"It's not goodbye, is it? More like, see you around."

"It became goodbye when you signed those pieces of paper Eliza. You gave up everything."

The woman frowned at McGee before storming off in the team's direction. She brushed past them, giving them all a rather awful glare. Tim watched her leave and then realised who Eliza passed. He stared at them before his eye's went wide.

"Boss? Tony? Ziva?" The bundle in his arms made a sound and he immediately looked down. "Sorry little girl."

The team made their way towards him which started McGee on a tangent. "I'm so sorry. I got a phone call and four this morning and I meant to ring you but I forgot and my phone's on silent and-"

"Whoa, slow down McChatterbox," Tony said.

"We were just making sure you weren't the one in hospital," Gibbs said.

Ziva peaked at the bundle in Tim's arms. It was definitely a baby in his arms, the little girl was wrapped up tightly. Blueish green eyes started up at her. "Who is this?" Ziva asked.

Tim yawned before answering. "Samantha McGee. She's my daughter."

**So, if you've read my first fanfiction you'd know that Samantha's name was originally Amelia and Eliza's was originally Lauren. Please let me know what you think. I'm not sure whether to continue this or just leave it and delete it sometime in the future.  
****Frani xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi everyone. Thanks for your really positive reviews, they inspired me to keep on writing! Just a quick shout out to CaptainMcSlash, SavvyTimeLord007, IAmHayleyDaughterOfAthena and all the girls in my class who are reading this. Even though some of you are a little stalker-ish and keep asking me to "send you the link" your willingness to read my stories and give me positive feedback keeps me smiling. ENJOY! (NCIS is not mine, if it was... well, CaptainMcSlash, you know what would happen)**

**Chapter Two**

The look on Tony and Ziva's faces were quite comical. Tim chuckled and then looked back down at Samantha. Her tiny hand curled it's fingers around his pinky, causing Tim to smile softly. He looked back up at his team mates and bit his lip, as if he didn't really know what to say.

"I guess I have some explaining to do," he said finally.

"Considering twelve hours ago you and Ziva were at my place discussing how unrealistic cop shows are and now you're here, yeah, an explanation would be nice," Tony told his partner.

Tim rolled his eyes. "It's a long story, but the short one is Eliza and I dated for a few months last year. It didn't really work out and then she moved to Richmond, so I never really heard from here. Then I got a call at four o'clock this morning from Eliza telling me Samantha was born at quarter past three and that I'm a dad," suddenly Tim's eyes went wide. "That sounds so weird. I'm a _dad_."

Gibbs chuckled. "You'll survive McGee. Does your family know?"

"Sarah was the only person I ended up calling. She's volunteered to run around and get baby... stuff."

"Your parents?"

"Tell the Admiral? No thanks, I'd rather-"

"Agent McGee!" a voice echoed throughout the hallway.

"Over here Nurse Wilson!" McGee called. A woman in her early sixties came down the corridor, a bright smile on her face.

"I told you to call me Margie."

"And I told you to call me Tim."

"Well you got me there my dear. Has Eliza gone then? If that woman was my daughter, she's be getting a tongue lashing so hard that she'd never forget it. But, alas, there is only so much a nurse can do."

Tim laughed. "She's gone Margie. She decided to pick one last fight with me though."

Nurse Wilson made a tsking noise. "Oh well. Now, Doctor Pond is ready to give Samantha her check-up."

"Didn't he already give her one?"

"You clearly are very tired Tim. Here, I'll take her and once you've finished here you can catch up. We'll be in room 327 around the corner."

McGee handed his daughter over to the nurse and watched as she took her down the hallway humming a song. When he turned around Gibbs was the only one standing there.

"I'm guessing you send Ziva and Tony back to work?" Tim asked.

Gibbs nodded. "How are you and Samantha getting home?"

"Sarah's got my car. Oh God, I let Sarah drive my car. She'll be fine... I think. Do you think everything's going to fit in my car?"

"McGee"

"It probably will, I mean, my car can actually fit five people."

"McGee"

"Lucky I bought that bigger place a while ago, otherwise I would be in trouble. Well, not in trouble like in trouble with the law trouble but I haven't had any time to sort anything like most people so-"

"McGee!"

"What have I done Boss? Have I screwed up?" Tim sat down on one of the chairs in the corridor. "Because I feel like I screwed up."

Gibbs sat down next to the junior agent. "Is Samantha a mistake? A screw up?"

"How could you say that?! I wasn't expecting it, but she's my daughter."

Gibbs smiled and put a hand on Tim's shoulder. "You hold onto that feeling Tim, and you're going to be fine."

"Thanks Boss. I better go and find Doctor Pond and Samantha."

"Have you called Abby?"

Tim looked at little sheepish. "I will. I was planning to call her first after Sarah but... yeah, I forgot."

"I see. Make sure you send Vance an email and get some time off, okay?"

"Okay"

They exchanged goodbyes and went their separate ways. Tim followed the numbers on the doors until he found room 327. He knocked and went inside. Doctor Pond and Nurse Wilson were standing over a baby cot. In the cot was Samantha staring up at them.

"Tim!" Nurse Wilson said, turning around.

"How's Samantha?" he asked.

"Perfectly healthy Agent McGee," Doctor Pond replied. The young doctor picked up the baby girl and handed her to Tim. "There's no sign of illness or disease. Just make sure you take her to the child health centre for check-ups now and then. Also, I've complied a list of things you should have in a newborn first aid kit. Get those things and you won't need to panic if she gets a fever."

"Thank you Doctor."

"No problem Agent McGee. Just follow Nurse Wilson to do the final paperwork."

"You can have lunch here and put Samantha down for a nap and then we can check you out at about three. Now, I'll be coming around to your house about every second day to see how you're going..."

Tim smiled and continued to listen to Margie. Maybe it was going to turn out fine after all.

**-NCIS-**

The MCRT agents had been working for the past hour. They were working on cold cases, which did not require much talking. The bell of the internal elevator rang and soon the chunky footsteps of Abby could be heard. She came to a halt in front of Gibbs' desk with a huge smile on her face.

"Did you hear?" she asked.

"Here what, Abs?" Gibbs answered.

"Timmy's a daddy!"

"He did not tell you we have already been to the hospital?" Ziva asked.

Abby's eyes widened. "You have? Why didn't you tell me? What does Samantha look like? Does she look like Tim? What colour are her eyes? What about-"

"Abby, slow down," Tony said. "We only went because we thought Tim was the one in hospital."

"Oh. He's taking some time off right? He's going to need someone especially after what Eliza did. How could someone abandon their own child?"

"Some people are just not meant to be parents," Ziva told her.

Abby frowned and then smiled like a light bulb had lit up in her head.

"Oh no. I know that look Abby. What idea is running through that brain of yours?" Tony asked.

"Well... it's kind of already past the idea stage. I called Sarah and she's going to keep Tim and Samantha out of the house after they get out of the hospital. She's bought things like paint and a crib and stuff for Samantha's room so I was going to go around to Tim's place and set it all up. I thought if you guys were free..." Abby trailed off expectantly.

"I would be happy to help, Abby" Ziva said.

Tony shrugged. "I'm in"

All three turned to Gibbs. The team leader sighed and wondered when his team had wrapped him around their pinkies. "I'll talk to Vance."

Abby clapped her hands together. "I'll go and talk to Ducky and Palmer. Timmy's going to love this!"

**-NCIS-**

At three o'clock Sarah McGee managed to manoeuvre a pram through the hospital and in one piece to her brother. Tim was in the hospital's nursery, standing over one of the cribs. She stopped the pram outside the room and went inside.

"Hey big brother," she said quietly.

"Hi Sarah. Did you get everything?" Tim asked.

"Most things. There's paint and furniture at your place as well as formula, bottles and all that stuff. I thought maybe we should go together and get the other stuff, like clothes and blankets."

Tim shrugged. "Sounds good, we can go now."

"That's what I was thinking. So you don't have to worry about doing it later."

"You okay Sarah? You seem a little jumpy."

"Tim, in the space of twelve hours I have become an aunt and spent more money than I do in a month. Forgive me if I'm a little out of it."

"If you insist. Let's go," Tim reached down to pick up Samantha.

"I'll take her, you can figure out the pram Mr Investigator. It's a very high tech thing."

Tim walked outside the room to take a look at the pram. It was dark blue with the hood opening towards the person pushing the pram. It had a built in carrier that doubled as a car seat.

"The saleswoman said it was one of the best models. I took her word on it," Sarah said.

"She's probably the expert," Tim commented.

After securing Samantha in the pram they bid the nursed goodbye and left the hospital. It took a few minutes for Tim to work out how to put the car seat in the car. Soon they were on their way to the shopping centre. For mid afternoon the centre wasn't that busy. Samantha was still asleep so they managed to move around peacefully and not draw attention like parents with screaming babies usually did.

"Would you take that look off your face," Sarah said as they went into a store.

"What look?" Tim asked.

"That stunned look, like your in permanent shock. I know that this _is _a big shock for you but try to, you know... embrace it."

Tim chuckled. "You paid too much attention to your philosophy classes."

"Hey, I liked those classes. Besides, the come in handy at work."

"Ah, and how is life as a junior features editor?"

"I'm actually enjoying it. It's not exactly the magazine I wanted to be working at but who knows, I may get a better offer one day."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I sent a manuscript to a publisher. Someone called and wanted to meet up."

"Sarah, that's fantastic!"

"It feels that way. Even though I'm hoping for the best, I don't want to keep my hopes up too high. Hey, look at these clothes Tim, they're so cute..."

**-NCIS-**

Abby grinned at the team's handiwork. She and Gibbs had put together a crib, a changing table and a chest of drawers for Samantha's room which Tony and Jimmy were painting. They had also moved the guest bed into the study since Sarah told them she was going to stay with Tim for a few weeks. Ziva and Ducky were cooking food to keep in the fridge, since they knew Tim wasn't going to have time to cook with a new baby. Jethro the dog wondered around, not really sure what was going on.

"Hey guys, you can come and see our masterpiece now!" Tony called.

They all entered Samantha's room to take a look at what Tony and Palmer had done.

"I did not know you guys were artistic," Ziva said.

The four walls of the room had been painted lilac. Scattered around the walls were blue butterflies and flowers. What was really cool, however, was the ceiling. It was painted navy and then they had painted stars, a moon and a sun.

"How did you get so many colours?" Ducky asked.

"Well to quote McGee, 'it shouldn't be so girly that I wouldn't be able to walk into it'. Good to see McDad still had standards. Anyway, Sarah just got lots of different colours and this it was we did with it," Tony explained.

"It's amazing guys!" Abby exclaimed.

"The ceiling was Jimmy's idea," Tony's statement caused the young doctor to blush.

"I've got one question for you Abbs," Gibbs said.

"Yeah?"

"How's the dog going to react to a baby?"

**How will Jethro react to a baby at Tim's house. Find out whenever I upload the next chapter. It'll probably be next weekend but hey, life's unpredictable. I saw a red mini outside my school the other day and, obviously, my first thought was 'OMG Ziva's here' then I was brought back to reality by my mum. Gee.. thanks mum. Please review and let me know what you think! Take a breath, have a keyboard,  
Frani xx  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Ugh, repeat after me "Frani is bad at uploading quickly". It's true and I'm sorry for being a week late. Anyway, shout out to Olivia. Without your pestering and constant reminders, it would have probably been another week before I uploaded this chapter. Thanks to everyone else for their great reviews! Please keep them coming. ENJOY! (NCIS is not mine. It belongs to the wonderful CBS, whom without I would not be watching half the crime shows that I do)**

**Chapter Three**

"So how's your dog going to react to Samantha?"

"I've been thinking about that."

Tim and Sarah were walking up the stairs to Tim's apartment, Tim holding Samantha in the baby carrier and Sarah carrying the shopping. They thought it would be best to leave the pram in the garage as it would be pointless bringing it upstairs.

"And...?"

"If he doesn't like her then I can leave him outside."

"Abby's not going to like that"

"Somehow I think my daughter comes before my dog."

"Correct. Your dad instincts are kicking in already."

"Dad instincts?"

"Open the door."

Tim laughed and pulled out his keys with his free hand. As he started to slide the key into the lock he heard Jethro bark and then... a voice?

"Jethro, be quiet"

Tim turned to Sarah. "You didn't..."

"Surprise?" Sarah said. "It was Abby's idea."

Tim shook his head and opened the door. "I know you guys are in here!" he announced. In a matter of seconds Ziva, Tony, Abby, Jimmy, Gibbs and Ducky appeared. "Whoa, I didn't expect all of you"

"How did you know?" Abby asked."

"Three words, Jethro be quiet" Tim replied and laughed when Ziva smacked Tony on the arm just as Jethro barked.

"Let's see this cutie," Abby said.

Tim handed Abby the baby carrier and moved over to scratch the dog behind the ears. It was clear that Jethro had no idea what was going on but he seemed to be enjoying the fact their was lots of people around.

"Tim, can you help me put this stuff in Samantha's room?" Sarah asked. Tim nodded and took a some of the bags from Sarah. He walked down the hallway and didn't notice Sarah wink at Tony before following him to his daughter's room.

"Oh My God," came Tim's gasp from the room. Tony, Gibbs and Ducky walked into the bedroom to see Tim standing in the middle of the room, looking around with a slightly shocked expression on his face while Sarah watched him with a knowing smirk.

"Did you guys do this?" Tim asked.

"No McGee, it was the house fairy," Tony said. "Of course it was us. Abby and the boss man set up the furniture, Palmer and I painted the room and Ducky and Ziva... well, just check the fridge."

"This is amazing. Thank you... wait, the fridge?"

Tim walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. "That's a lot of food. Not that I don't appreciate this, because I do, but I can cook you know."

"McGee, with a baby food is the last thing you want to worry about," Gibbs said.

"Hey Tim! You have to see this!" Abby called.

The four men and Sarah walked into the living room. Abby and Ziva were sitting on the sofa, Samantha in Ziva's arms and Jimmy was sitting in the arm chair. Jethro was lying on the floor, head in his paws.

"He hasn't tried to eat her has he?" Tim asked, looking at his dog.

"It is quite the opposite McGee," Ziva said.

"Watch this," Abby said. "Okay, Jimmy come over here and take Samantha from Ziva."

Jimmy got up and walked over. As soon as Ziva attempted to hand over the baby girl Jethro stood up and started barking. The dog walked over to Jimmy and sniffed around him. After a few seconds he sat down at the young man's feet.

"Sammy has a body guard," Abby said.

"Sammy?" Tim questioned.

"Timothy and Samantha, Tim and Sam, Timmy and Sammy. It fits."

**-NCIS-**

"Hey McDaddy, I think she's going to start crying."

Tim didn't know whether to sigh or start laughing. After dinner Samantha had woken up and once they changed her nappy Abby, Sarah and Ziva had convinced Tony to hold her. As Abby had said 'it would be like refusing to hold your niece'. Soon after Tony had spoken Samantha started to cry.

"Relax Tony, she's probably just hungry," Tim said, taking Sam from his friend and making his way to the kitchen.

"I'll do it McGee," Gibbs volunteered, slipping past McGee into the kitchen.

"Oh, okay. Thanks Boss."

Tim sat down, attempting to shush his daughter. After a few 'shhhs' and a couple of gentle rocks Samantha calmed down, only occasionally whimpering.

"My brother, the baby whisperer," Sarah commented, causing the group to chuckle.

"I'm going to have to disagree with you there Sarah. You have not seen the bossman with kids," Abby said.

"He's like a wizard. Babies and kids just magically like him," Tony added.

"I'll find a spell to magically shut you up DiNozzo."

Like the wizard he was, Gibbs appeared like usual head slapping Tony on the back of the head. However, unlike when they were at NCIS Gibbs had a bottle of formula in his hand. He handed it to Tim who smiled gratefully.

"Thanks Boss."

Tim touched the mouth of the bottle to Samantha's mouth to see if she was indeed hungry. Sure enough, Sammy's mouth clamped onto the bottle. After she finished the bottle she became quiet and relaxed.

"Let's get a towel before you decide to give me back that milk, huh?" Tim told Samantha, getting up and carrying her down the hallway.

"What does he mean, giving back the milk?" Tony asked the group.

Abby giggled. "Babies aren't the best at keeping what they drink down, Tony."

"Ew. Gross"

Five minutes later Tim returned without Samantha and with a different shirt on. He took his place on the sofa in between Tony and Sarah.

"Samantha fell asleep?" Sarah asked.

"Yep, she should be in a milk coma for a couple of hours," Tim replied.

"Milk coma? Is this another idiom?" Ziva asked.

"No Ziva. It's a nickname the nurses give to babies who have fallen asleep after they have their milk."

"I will never understand your language."

**-NCIS-**

Half an hour later the team went their separate ways, since they all had to go to work the next morning. Tim closed the door, relieved that he was just with Samantha and Sarah now. He turned around, heading to the kitchen, when he saw Gibbs standing in his living room.

"Boss! I thought you left."

"Still here McGee."

Knowing the look Gibbs was giving, Tim sighed. "You want to talk"

Gibbs nodded at sat down, Tim following his lead. Gibbs opened his mouth to say something when Sarah walked in. "Tim, Penny called. She's coming over tomorrow and she promises not to tell dad... oh, Agent Gibbs, you're still here... I'm just going to... shower now," Sarah exited the room as quickly as she entered it.

"Penny coming over, this should be interesting," Tim said.

"Why does she have to promise not to talk to your dad?" Gibbs asked.

"It's not important Boss... you don't need to worry."

"McGee"

"No one is telling the Admiral because if he found out then he'd find a reason to take her away from me."

"Why?"

"The Admiral is big on tradition. Every since I was a kid, he had my life planned out for me. I was supposed to join the Navy, get married, have kids and lead a nice, normal life. So far I've destroyed his plans by going to MIT and John Hopkins rather than the Naval Academy and then joining NCIS instead of the actual Navy. But I still think some part of him still thinks I could join some division of the Navy. If he finds out about Samantha he will try to take her away from me."

"Where is he at the moment. Stationed at Alameda, living in San Francisco with my mum; who is oblivious to the who situation. As long as he's on the other side of the country everything is going to be fine."

"If he shows up, you let me know, okay?"

"I don't think he will, but if he does, I'll tell you."

"Night McGee"

"Night Boss"

Tim closed the door behind Gibbs and sighed in relief, now they were all gone. He headed into the bedroom to change into something comfier. When he got out of his room Sarah emerged from the bathroom with wet hair and wearing pyjamas.

"Gibbs left?" she asked.

"Yep"

"Well I'm going to bed. Are you?"

Tim shook his head. "She'll be awake in an hour or two. I'll stay up till then."

"Okay. Make sure you actually sleep tonight."

"Yes _mum"_

"Hey, that's my line!"

Sarah went into the study and closed the door behind her. McGee went back to the living room and turned on the TV with the volume low. Sure enough, just over two hours later Sam started crying.

"Timothy McGee, welcome to the first night of the rest of your life."

**This chapter and the next one or two are just kinda filler chapters before the drama starts. On another note, I saw the promo for "Squall" and I am so excited! McGee is crying people, let's just let that sink in because this is the FIRST time McGee has cried and it's nearly been 10 years! Okay, I've finished my rant. Take a breath, have a keyboard,  
****Frani xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone. Just a little fluffy chapter before the actual main drama starts. Thanks for all the faves, reviews and follows. ENJOY! (NCIS is not mine, if it was, Australia would not be 5 episodes behind America. Yes, I'm looking at you channel 10)**

**Chapter Four**

When Sarah got up at seven the next morning to get ready for work she noticed Jethro sleeping in the doorway of Samantha's room. She peeked in and saw Tim sleeping on the armchair in the room. Sarah sighed and wondered what her brother was up to. How did the armchair even get in Samantha's room?

"Jethro wanted to sleep in Samantha's room," Tim said without opening his eyes, which Sarah thought was a bit creepy. "I don't trust my dog that much yet."

"I'm pretty sure he just wants to be a good guard dog."

"Is this what you do at the office? Try to interpret dog behaviour?"

"Hilarious Tim. I have to go and get ready for work. You might wanna get ready yourself. Penny's coming over, remember?"

Tim groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, I remember."

"Did you get some sleep?"

"She slept surprisingly well. Only woke up twice, which is a whole lot better than you."

"Me?!"

"My main memories of being eight years old involve listening to a newborn you start screaming in the middle of the night."

"Whatever. I'll see you tonight."

"Sarah?"

"Yeah?"

"How long are you sticking around for?" Tim stretched his arms before standing up.

"Well, you have two weeks leave and I've taken three weeks off due to start the day you go back. I'll probably head back home once I've finished my time off. She should be old enough to be in daycare or to be babysat then, right?"

"Yeah, I think so. Thank you Sarah."

"No problem."

Sarah left to use the bathroom and Tim got up to put a waking up Samantha in the baby chair in the living room. He let Jethro out the back to where stairs lead to a small garden that the four apartments in the building shared. After getting changed and eating breakfast Tim made up a bottle for Samantha and settled on the couch with her.

"Your Aunty Sarah is a very, very good woman," he told the baby girl. "We'd be very lost without her. We'd probably be a little lost without the team too. But we're going to be fine, you and me, absolutely fine."

Samantha finished the bottle and Tim stood up and grabbed a towel, knowing what was probably going to happen next. As he walked around the house he began to softly sing. It was a song his mum sung to him and Sarah when the were babies and toddlers. When Sarah was two, Tim had taken it upon himself to learn the lyrics, and now they seemed to be permanently etched into his brain.

They settled back onto the couch when the doorbell rang. Tim walked over to answer it and was greeted by his grandmother, Penny.

"Timothy!"

"Hey Penny"

"You know, fancy getting Sarah to ring me and tell me I'm a great grandmother when she's not even the one with the new baby."

"It was either that or you still wouldn't know. I've been busy Penny."

"Yes, well a baby does keep you on your toes. Now are you going to hand over that little bundle?"

Tim passed Sam over to Penny and let her into the house, grabbing the bags she left on the doorstep. He put them next to the couch and went over to the back door, where he heard Jethro scratching to come inside. He let the dog in and watched as he sped down the corridor and to the living room. As soon as he got there Jethro began barking at Penny.

"Timothy, what is your dog doing?" Penny exclaimed.

"Jethro! Jethro stop it! Penny isn't going to hurt Samantha," Tim told his dog. Jethro stopped and sniffed at Penny before relaxing and lying on the floor.

"Sorry about that, he acts like a bit of a guard dog around Sam," Tim said.

"Well I expect that she'll be very well guarded with the dog, you and your team around," Penny said. "Have they visited yet?"

Tim smiled. "They got here before I did yesterday. Got Samantha's room ready and cooked enough food to last me a month."

"Let's see then."

Penny handed Samantha back to Tim and headed down the hallway to Sam's room. She looked around before turning to Tim.

"They did all this?" she asked.

"Yep. Though I think it was mainly Abby's idea."

"Of course. That women really likes to make things happen."

"That she does"

"Now, I bought a couple of things on my way over here. You may say that she's got too much stuff but babies tend to ruin a few things. I remember when you were four months old..."

**-NCIS-**

Sarah let herself into Tim's place at about five thirty. As she was about to close the door she heard someone call her name and clunky footsteps come up the stairs. She opened the door and saw Abby coming up the last few stairs.

"Hi Abby," Sarah said.

"Sarah, hi. I'm sorry, I should have called first but this was kind of a spare of the moment thing. Tim's probably told you I have a thing about babies... well, not _that _kind of thing, that's a little creepy. Mind you, he probably hasn't told you since he wouldn't have the time-"

"Abby! It's okay, come in."

Sarah opened the door and let Abby inside. Samantha was lying in her baby chair in the living room. For a second, they had no idea where Tim was until they saw him sitting at the table, his chin resting in his hands. His eyes were closed, but he didn't seem to be asleep.

"Working too hard today, Tim?"

"Something like that," Tim replied, opening his eyes. "Oh, hi Abby."

"Hey McGee"

Tim yawned and rubbed his eyes before getting out of his seat and going over to Samantha to pick her up.

"Have you slept?" Abby asked.

"Yeah," Tim replied. "But I kinda feel like I felt when I was driving Gibbs around."

"I remember Luca and his wife when my niece was born. Luca nearly bit my head off a couple of times," Abby said.

"Well, being an agent gets me used to the strange sleeping patterns."

**-NCIS-**

The next week was a little chaotic for Tim. Samantha never slept for more than four hours at once and she didn't have any sort of sleeping pattern yet which meant that Tim found himself taking on the sleeping habits of his daughter. Nurse Wilson had visited a couple of times, checking up on them and giving him advice on everything from sleeping routines to bath time. Each member of the team had either visited or called and Penny had been over for dinner twice.

Eventually, after about eleven days, Tim found himself getting used to it. He compared it to the strange hours of a case and the surprises that came with it. Even so, working a case was very different to raising a baby. Tim liked it though, he liked being a dad even though it was something he had never really considered before. They say a father instantly falls in love with his child and it was true. Suddenly, Tim couldn't imagine Samantha not being in his life.

Two weeks after Samantha was born it was time for Tim to go back to work. It felt weird, going from two weeks of wearing sweats and changing into jeans to go out to now putting his work clothes and grabbing his NCIS backpack instead of Samantha and her things. Tim felt a little guilty that Sarah was taking time off to look after Samantha but Sarah insisted that any time off was good.

"Okay, I'm going now," Tim said after drinking the last of his coffee. He gave both Sarah and Samantha a kiss on the cheek before heading out the door and down the stairs.

"McGee, haven't seen you here for a while," Dave, the security guard said.

Tim smiled. "I took some time off."

Tim took a deep breath as he rode the elevator up to his floor. As much as he loved staying at home with Samantha for two weeks he did miss his work. Tony and Ziva were already at their desks.

"McGee!" Tony said, looking up.

"Hey guys," Tim said, sitting down.

"You look tired," Ziva commented.

"I've had strange sleeping patterns."

"Trying to 'sleep like a baby' McDaddy?"

"Gee Tony, that was hilarious."

"How is Samantha, Tim?" Ziva asked.

"She's good. Jethro has appointed himself personal guard dog."

Tony and Ziva both laughed at that. They all got settled into their work until Gibbs came into the bullpen.

"Gear up! Dead Marine just outside Quantico," the team leader said. "And welcome back McGee."

**Just so I don't confuse you guys, this story will have two main problems/plots/predicaments. So when the first is over in a couple of chapters, don't think the story is over. I'm just telling you this because I've been known to confuse some of my readers. See you next time guys! Take a breath, have a keyboard,  
****Frani xx **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey everyone! How's life? I hope you're having fun where ever you are. The drama starts in this chapter and won't be finishing for a while. I've also changed the summary of this story, as I feel it fits it better now. ENJOY! (NCIS is not mine, something tells me you would not watch it if it was)**

**Chapter Five**

The case was a surprisingly simple one. The marine was stabbed twice in his sleep with your average kitchen knife. After discovering the marine had been in a long going family feud with his little sister they brought her into interrogation. The young woman pretty much confessed as soon as they put her in the room.

Tim got home at eleven thirty to a silent house. Sarah was fast asleep in her bed in the study and Samantha was also fast asleep, Jethro sleeping on the floor underneath the window. After making sure Jethro wasn't going to do anything dangerous Tim allowed his dog to stay in Sam's room. After changing into his pyjamas, Tim was about to lie down when the baby monitor in his room projected Samantha's crying around the bedroom. In a flash, Tim was out of bed and in his baby girl's room. He picked her up and cradled her close to his chest.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Shhh, I'm here, it's okay."

Deciding she was probably hungry Tim managed to prepare a bottle with one hand and give it to Samantha. She drank it greedily and was finished in a matter of minutes. Tim took a towel off the bench and sighed when bit's off white liquid began to find it's way out of Samantha's mouth.

"I will live for the day when you can keep what you drink down," Tim said. "But don't get me wrong, I'll also live for the day when you say your first word and take your first steps, your first day of school and the first time you ride a bike. You watch, I'll be there for all of it, I promise."

A few days later, Tim exited to the elevator to see Tony and Ziva throwing pencils at each other. He stood back a bit so he didn't cross the line of fire. "Do I even want to know what's going on?"

Both agents stopped and looked at Tim. "Ziva started it," Tony said.

"I did not start it. Tony on the other hand..." Ziva protested.

Tim put his hands up. "I don't care, I really don't"

"Neither do I McGee"

Gibbs entered the bullpen and sat down at his desk. The team got stuck into their work for a couple of minutes until Gibbs' desk phone rang.

"Gibbs"

"Okay"

"We're on it"

The phone slammed back onto the receiver and the three younger agents reached for their bags. "Gear up," Gibbs said.

"What do we have Boss?" Tony asked.

Gibbs hesitated before answering. "The Quantico MPs have reported a missing toddler and the parents have already got a ransom call," Gibbs replied. "C'mon, let's go"

The agents headed into the elevator and then into the car. Seamus and Molly Sullivan were a couple in their early thirties. Emma Sullivan was their two year old daughter who had been missing since early in the morning. Molly had gotten up at five only to hear the back door close and a van drive away. The couple had their hands clutched together on the table as Tony and Tim interviewed them.

"I just don't understand how I didn't wake up," Molly said, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Where were you for the past twelve hours Lieutenant Sullivan?" Tony asked.

"I had to pull an all nighter at the research centre here on the base," Sullivan replied. "You don't think me not being here had something to do with it?"

"We must consider the possibility," Tim answered. "Now, what did they ransom caller say?"

"The told us they had our little girl and they wanted six hundred and fifty thousand dollars in the next twenty four hours," Molly said.

"Did the voice sound familiar?" Tony asked.

"No," Lieutenant Sullivan replied. "It sounded electronic, you know, that robotic type voice."

"And you can't think of any reason why someone would kidnap your daughter? Do you owe anyone money?"

"No I can't. Apart from the mortgage and a few bills everything's been paid off. Even then I don't think the bank would do anything like this."

"Okay," Tony said. "That's all the questions we have for now, we'll keep you-"

"That's all? You ask us a couple of questions and leave? Our daughter is out there! She's gone! How would you feel if it was your child?" Molly said, suddenly very angry.

"Molly calm down! They know what they're doing," Seamus said.

Tim stood up and whispered to Tony. "I'm going to see if Gibbs needs me"

Tony watched Tim leave and noticed it looked like his friend had been punched in the gut, metaphorically of course. Seamus Sullivan seemed to notice it too.

"Did we offend him?" he asked.

"Agent McGee has a baby girl who's almost three weeks old," Tony replied. "If that doesn't convince you that we'll find your daughter, I don't know what will."

**-NCIS-**

When the team got back to NCIS they immediately began processing all the evidence they had. Abby got the fingerprints from the broken back door, the recording from the answering machine and a few things the team had found in the little girl's room. Tony and Tim were looking at bank records and everything from Lieutenant Sullivan's work while Ziva looked into the recent events of the Sullivan family, anything that could tell them why Emma had been kidnapped.

As they looked through the information everyone noticed Tim's behaviour. He seemed wound up, distracted and a little robotic. It took two or three calls of his name for him to answer, like his mind was in another land.

Tim stared at his computer screen, not really paying attention to what he was reading. He only had one sentence in his head. _How would you feel if it was your child? _The words danced their way in and out of Tim's head over and over again, making it almost impossible to concentrate.

"_McGee! _Abby's got something, let's go."

Tim followed Gibbs into the elevator. As soon as they started to head down to Abby's floor Gibbs hit the emergency switch.

"Are you okay to work this case?" he asked.

"Boss..." Tim began.

"Are you okay to work this case McGee?"

"Of course Boss. I just can't help thinking about it, you know? All the what ifs..."

"Samantha is fine. Concentrate on getting Emma back to her family."

"Right"

Gibbs flicked the switch again and the elevator came to life. The two agents headed to Abby's lab. For once, the music was at a moderate level. Abby herself was working frantically, going between computers, machines and tables.

"What have you got Abbs?" Gibbs asked.

"The fingerprints are running through AFIS now. But that's not why I called you down here. Oh, hi McGee," Abby said once she noticed the junior agent before resuming. "Okay, I went through the recording of the phone call. Although the kidnappers voice is robotic, the background noises aren't, so he or she probably used some sort of computer or device to give the message. I also managed to isolate some of the background noises."

Abby went through each noise. There was a bird chirping, a distant car horn and quiet footsteps. "Then there are these two, which are the ones I though you might be interested in."

The first noise Abby played was the sound of a little girl talking and the second was the sound of a car engine starting.

"So Emma's with the kidnapper and she's alive," Gibbs said.

"And they were in the van a couple of hours ago. The MPs blocked all entrances to the base as soon as Molly made the call. So either they got out really quick..." McGee began.

"Or they're still on base," Gibbs concluded. "Call DiNozzo and get him to put the MPs on alert."

Tim pulled out his phone to call Tony when the phone started ringing anyway.

"Yeah Ziva? Okay, I'll be up there soon. I'll bring Gibbs too"

He put his phone away and turned to Gibbs. "Ziva thinks she might have something."

The two agents headed back upstairs. When they got back to the bullpen Tim got onto Ziva's computer and fiddled around with something before putting it up on the plasma.

"We were looking around the bank statements and records of the Sullivan's and then we notices this. Fourteen months ago Lieutenant Sullivan received a transfer of six hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The exact amount the kidnapper has asked for."

***Gasp* Well, kinda. Just a quick question, I have these pictures saved of what I think Sam would look like at different ages. If anyone is interested, I would be happy to post them on my tumblr for you to see. Let me know. Take a breath, have a keyboard,  
****Frani xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey everyone, hope you had a lovely week. I returned to the wonderful land of school so now I will probably post a chapter everyone 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. Thanks for all the reviews, favs and follows, your support is appreciated so much. ENJOY! (NCIS is as much mine as a pink unicorn is. In case you were wondering, I don't have a pink unicorn) **

**Chapter Six**

"McGee, where did the money come from?"

"I traced it to a bank and that's as far as I can get, the money must have come from someone who's died."

"DiNozzo, call the Sullivans and get them over here. Make sure an agent stays at their house though, we need to know if there's another ransom call."

An hour later Lieutenant Sullivan and his wife were sitting in a conference room. Gibbs entered the room with Ziva and sat opposite the. The tears in Molly's eyes had subsided but the fear and worry was still a permanent feature on her face.

"What is the reason you have called us here, Agent Gibbs?" Lieutenant Sullivan asked.

"You might actually know who's kidnapped your daughter," Gibbs replied. "Even if you didn't realise it."

"Fourteen months ago you received a large some of money, Lieutenant Sullivan," Ziva said. "Six hundred and fifty thousand dollars to be exact. How did you acquire the money?"

"My father passed away. That is the money he left for me in his will," Seamus answered.

"Has it occurred to you that's the exact amount of money that's been asked in exchange for your daughter?" Gibbs asked. "Why not just hand over the money? That would guarantee your daughter's return."

"Agent Gibbs, as a fellow Marine you must understand that I have been taught never to give in. As it is, I was not aware of the exact amount until you told me. I was deployed when the will was read."

"Did any other family members benefit from the will?" Ziva asked.

"Just my brother. Mum died a few years ago so it's just my brother, his wife and two sons."

"Did they receive the same amount as you?"

"No.. in fact there was a court case over it. Dad left us a lot more because Emma had just been born. But my brother dropped it, realising he was being stupid. You don't think...?"

"We must consider the possibility. Where's your brother now?"

"On base. Major Colin Sullivan, he's on leave at the moment while his wife's on a business trip in Michigan."

"Thank-you for your time Lieutenant. We will find your daughter," Gibbs said.

"Agent Gibbs, will you tell Agent McGee that I'm sorry? I would never wish this on anyone," Molly said.

Gibbs nodded and he and Ziva lead them outside and to the elevator. They headed back to their office space where Tim and Tony where hunched over Tony's computer. The two agents looked up at their approach.

"What have you got?" Gibbs asked.

"We reviewed the security tapes from the camera's near the Sullivan's house. We found this," Tony hit a key on his keyboard. A video of the street appeared. After a few seconds a black van drove past, tinted windows blocking the view inside and it seemed the number plates had been ripped off.

"We looked and there are ninety two registered vans in Quantico of this type," Tim said.

"DiNozzo, take Ziva and go to Quantico. Find that van!"

**NCIS**

Major Colin Sullivan sat in interrogation, staring at the mirror. He turned his head when the door opened. Tim came in with a file and sat in the corner chair.

"I had to leave my boys with the neighbours. It was a large inconvenience to come here. Couldn't we have done this at Quantico?" Major Sullivan asked.

"That's the least of your problems Major," Tim replied. As if on cue, Gibbs entered. He took the file off McGee and sat down in front of the Major.

"Major Sullivan, you're aware that your niece is missing?"

"Of course, Seamus rang me this morning. Is that was this is about?"

"Last year you took your brother to court over the fact that your father left more money for him in his will-"

"You don't-"

"The amount the kidnappers have asked for ransom is the exact amount your brother got! How is kidnapping a two year old going to solve your problems?"

"I did not kidnap my niece! I was wit my children last night and I got over what happened between Seamus and I a long time ago."

"Do you know of anyone who would want to do this?"

"No"

After a few more standard questions they let the Major go. Gibbs and McGee headed back to the bullpen. Just as they sat down Tony and Ziva got out of the elevator. Tony's hair was all over the place and his shirt was dirty.

"The van was a dead end," Ziva said. "It was parked near a park on the east side of the base. The only thing we know is that Emma must still be on the base."

"What happened to you Tony?" Tim asked.

"I tripped while I was looking in the van," Tony grumbled. "It was filthy in there, I don't know how any child would like being there."

Suddenly Gibbs and McGee's phones rang at the same. Both of them pulled their phones out to check the caller I.D.

"Sorry, I've got to take this, it's Sarah," Tim said. Gibbs nodded and answered his phone.

"What is it Duck?"

Tim walked away from the others to answer his call. "Hi Sarah"

"_Hey Tim. Are you coming home tonight?"_

"No, we got a case, we're going to be here all night."

"_Are you okay?"_

"It's a tough case, I'll be fine"

"_What happened?"_

"I tell you when I get home. Tell Samantha I love her"

"_Okay. See you big bro, love ya"_

"Love you too, bye"

Tim headed back to his desk and sat down, putting his head in his hands for a moment. He really couldn't let go of the questions staying in his head. What if it was Samantha? What if someone took her? Tim shook the thought from his head, refusing to think about it anymore. He was do what he always did; find the person responsible.

**NCIS**

"What have you got Ducky?"

"Jethro, I began to build a profile on our kidnapper and have discovered a few things that might interest you."

Gibbs and Ducky stood on opposite sides of a clean autopsy table.

"And?"

"This kidnapper has made no actual threat, no consequence for not giving the money. It is of course implied that Lieutenant Sullivan and Mrs Sullivan may not see their daughter again but the kidnapper has no intention of hurting the little girl. You are looking for someone who has built a previous relationship with the whole family, not someone just looking for the money."

"We've interviewed the only family of the Sullivan and none of their friends have any motive to need or want the money."

"They are not the only people that would be part of the child's life. Which brings me to my next point. From what the team has told me and from what I've seen the thing that woke up Molly Sullivan was the door closing and the van driving off, not the child resisting whoever was taking her."

"So Emma knows whoever taken her?"

"That is likely. Abby played me the ransom pie and I heard Emma babbling in the background. She obviously did not suspect anything, despite being in the van. Children are surprisingly good at knowing whether something is wrong or not."

Gibbs opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped by his phone ringing.

"Gibbs"

"We'll be there soon"

"Got to go Ducky, there's been a second ransom call"

**It's fun to here all your theories on what is going to happen, don't be afraid to let me know what you think! Once again, if anyone is interesting on seeing what I think Samantha would look like now and in the future, I am happy to post them on tumblr or if you would prefer a direct email, PM me. Take a breath, have a keyboard,  
Frani xx  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry for the delay guys, the real world and I aren't getting along at the moment. I must say though, some of you have a real knack for predicting things. Mind you, I can't say I try to make it difficult. ENJOY! (NCIS is not mine... maybe season 34 will be...)**

**Chapter Seven**

The agents arrived at the Sullivan's house where two agents were already present as they were the ones who had been watching the house. They were questioning Seamus and Molly who both looked angry and upset. Molly's handing were shaking as she spoke, her tear stained cheeks shining in the light of the room.

"McGee, David, go and get the recording we need," Gibbs said, beckoning Tony over to talk with the other NCIS agents. Tim and Ziva headed over to the phone. Ziva pulled a glove on and pressed the play button.

"_You still have a lot of time left. If I don't receive the money in time I may have to drop your child off somewhere. Maybe a park or a house or an abandoned building. Whether you find her or not will be up to you._"

Tim's gut clenched as the robotic voice dished out its latest threat. How could someone kidnap a child, just for money? He and Ziva took out the recording part of the machine and out it in an evidence bag, ready to take to Abby. They headed back over to Gibbs, who was on the phone.

"Okay Abbs, good work," Gibbs hung up. "Lieutenant Sullivan, do you know Corporal Daniel Fletcher?"

"Danny? Sure, he works at the research centre with me. His unit help with taking the research overseas," Lieutenant Sullivan answered.

"Do you get along with Corporal Fletcher?" Tony asked.

"At first we didn't see eye to eye. Different values, family upbringing and a general personality clash made us disagree a lot, sometimes even argue. But what does he have to do with Emma?"

"Probably nothing," Gibbs shrugged. "We'll update you soon."

"What now Gibbs?" Ziva asked as the Sullivans walked away.

"Corporal Fletcher's fingerprints were found on the back door. He's on base at the moment" Gibbs replied. "DiNozzo, McGee, take the tape back to Abby. Ziva, let's go and visit Fletcher."

Corporal Daniel Fletcher was training with his unit when Gibbs and Ziva found him. They spoke to the man in charge briefly, who waved the Corporal over. Daniel, all bright eyed and tanned skin, looked rather confused at the presence of the NCIS agents. He still straightened himself when he came to a stop and looked directly into Gibbs' eyes.

"How can I help you sir?" he asked.

"You know Lieutenant Sullivan, Corporal?"

"Yes sir. Has something happened to him?"

"His daughter was kidnapped this morning," Ziva answered.

"Emma? Oh God, well do you have any idea who did it?" there was a paused until realisation dawned on the Corporal's face. "You think I did it? Sir, I may have not got on with the Lieutenant in the past but I do not have any reason to kidnap Emma."

"How do you explain the fingerprints we found on the back door that matched yours?"

"Fingerprints?" Daniel scratched the back of his head. "A couple of days ago I fixed that door for them. You can ask Molly and Seamus! I did not kidnap Emma!"

"Where were you between 0400 and 0600 this morning Corporal?" Ziva asked.

"I was at the research centre with Lieutenant Sullivan. I left at 0530. The Lieutenant was still there."

"Okay. Thank you for your time Corporal Fletcher."

Gibbs and Ziva left the Corporal to continue his training and headed back to the car. "Call the agents at the Sullivan's house and get them to confirm the Corporal's story."

They begun to drive to NCIS; it was time to find another suspect.

**NCIS**

When they arrived back at NCIS they went straight to Abby's lab to see what she had found. The scientist had her headphones in and was staring at her computer screen.

"Abby? Abby!"

Abby pulled her headphones off and turned around. "Gibbs! Ziva! I've just finished analysing the tape."

"And?"

"I couldn't find anything new," Abby sighed. "The kidnapper used the same program as last time. There's no much noise except the faint sound of a little girl giggling so Emma must still be with the kidnapper."

"Just keep digging Abbs."

Ziva and Gibbs headed up to the squadroom. Tony and Tim where focused on Tim's computer, reading something on the screen. Gibbs and Ziva moved to stand behind them, reading over their shoulders.

"What have you got?" Gibbs asked.

"We think Jenna Sullivan has Emma," Tony said.

"You think?"

"Remember how Lieutenant Sullivan said his sister in law was in Michigan?" Tim asked. "Well, she's not. Tony thought that the money thing was too much of a coincidence so I traced her cellphone and she's definitely not in Michigan."

"Then where is she?"

"In Quantico, on base."

"Then let's go"

The team geared up and raced to the elevator. They got into the cars and began driving to Quantico. Tim held on tightly as Ziva sped through the streets. Though the Israeli had been in the US for a number of years she still liked to ignore a lot of the road rules.

"Where are we going McGee?" Ziva asked.

"Give me a sec... okay, there should be a small line of shops near Carnby park."

"There they are.'

Ziva pulled up, Gibbs and Tony pulling up behind them. They paused for a second while Tim pin pointed the location of Jenna Sullivan. Tim motioned towards an empty shop that had a large 'for sale' sign in the window. The team pulled out their weapons and quietly entered the store.

"NCIS, Mrs Sullivan, please come out," Tony called. Footsteps became louder and louder before the door at the back of the store opened. Jenna stepped into the room, holding a gun in her hand.

"Put the gun down Mrs Sullivan," Gibbs said.

"All I want is the money," Jenna said. "We have a fifteen year old and an eleven year old. Despite what most people think, they need more than a two year old."

"Put the gun down"

"No!" Mrs Sullivan pointed the gun straight at Ziva. "You get me the money, I won't shoot and I'll tell you where Emma is."

"No deal," Ziva said, looking straight at the gun. "Put the gun down and we will talk."

"I want the money okay, we need it!"

"Why?" Ziva asked.

"So Colin can leave the Marines," Jenna's voice lowered to a whisper. "He hates it. We could move if we had the money, leave this place."

"Have you discussed this with Colin?"

"No! It's a surprise. He'll be so happy when he finds out."

While Ziva kept Jenna focused on their conversation Gibbs was slowly moving towards her, ready to take the gun from her. When he got close enough he quickly reached out and grabbed her wrist, forcing her to drop the gun. "You're under arrest Mrs Sullivan."

As she was handcuffed Tim walked up to her. "Where's Emma?"

"Give me the money and I'll tell you."

Gibbs snorted. "Like Agent David said; no deal."

"Well you'll just have to find her then."

"McGee, DiNozzo, get Emma and take her back to NCIS. Arrange for her parents to meet us there."

Tony and Tim headed into the room Jenna had come in from. It was empty apart from two dolls and a plastic cup on the worn carpet. They were both stumped as to where the toddler was for a moment until they heard a soft whimper. They turned around to see a door next to the one they had entered. Tony opened it to reveal Emma clutching a teddy bear. She was still in her pajamas and her hair was in tight, messy curls.

"Ang'y person all gone?" she asked, looking up at them.

"All gone," Tim said. Do you wanna come out of there?"

"Who you?"

"I'm Tony and this is Tim. We're policemen."

"Otay"

Emma stepped between them and wondered over to her dolls and picked them up. She then headed back to them and looked up a Tim.

"Up?"

Tim laughed and picked her up. The three of them headed outside to see Ziva and Gibbs drive off with Jenna. They got into their own car, with Emma sitting on Tim's lap, since they realised they had no car seat for the little girl. Tim smiled as Emma introduced him to her dolls. "Let's get you back to your mum and dad shall we?"

"An' you go back to you' mummy and daddy."

"Yeah, something like that."

**Remember I love hearing your predictions if you want to share them with me. On another note, thank you for all the favs, follows and reviews, it's wonderful to know you guys like this story! Take a breath, have a keyboard,  
****Frani xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for all your kind words in your reviews, it all made me smile! ENJOY! (NCIS is not mine... but Samantha is, and I am proud to own the cutest character in this story!)**

**Chapter Eight**

"This is Tate" Emma help up her doll to Ziva proudly.

"Tate?" Ziva asked, taking the doll from the two year old.

"Noooooo, _Tate_."

"She's trying to say Kate, Ziva," Tim said, watching the pair with an amused expression.

"Oh I see. Well doesn't Kate have lovely purple hair?"

"Uh-huh. Pur-le hair is da best!"

"Do you want purple hair?"

"Uh-huh."

Tony snorted. "Good luck with that."

"Good luck with what, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, entering the bullpen. Tony opened and shut his mouth a couple of times before giving up on answering. "C'mon Emma, let's get you to mum and dad huh?"

Emma reach up to Gibbs. The team leader picked the girl up and took her over to the elevator that Seamus and Molly Sullivan were about to come out of. Gibbs put her down as she ran into her parents' arms, giggling like mad. Tony, Ziva and Tim sat at Tony's desk and watched the reunion of Emma and her parents. After would could be described as one of the most stressful ten hours of the year it was good to see a happy ending emerge. Tim couldn't help feel sorry for Colin Sullivan though with his wife kidnapping their niece. Though, he supposed, you never know who the strange ones are. That he could relate to. Gibbs walked back to them, the tiniest smile on his face.

"Go home, get some rest," he said. "I'll see you in the morning."

Tim didn't need to be told twice. He quickly packed up his things and practically raced to the elevator . It was only quarter to nine, earlier that he expected it to be. When he got home Sarah was curled up on the sofa watching the TV. Jethro was no where to be seen so Tim assumed the German Shepard had taken his place in Samantha's room.

"Hi Tim," Sarah said, lifting her head.

"Hey. Good day?"

"Oh you know, lots of napping and eating."

"Yeah? Ans what did Sam do?"

Sarah chucked at cushion at Tim. "You're awful."

"I know," Tim grinned. He headed to his room and put away his bag, gun and badge. He then entered Samantha's room, his daughter sleeping peacefully in her cot with her fists gripping the blankets. He brushed his hand over the tufts of wispy blond hair of her head. He was about to leave the room when he heard Sam stir. Her bright eyes blinked up at him before closing as she silently yawned. Jethro watched as Tim picked the little girl up and held her close to his chest, carrying her out of the room. Sarah was sitting at the kitchen stirring something in a mug.

"Coffee?" she asked.

"Sure"

When Sarah finished in the kitchen she found Tim lying on the sofa; Sam lying on his chest. She placed the coffee mugs on the table and sat in the armchair. Sarah watched as her brother slowly stroked Samantha's back absent-mindedly with his thumb as the baby drifted in and out of sleep.

"Tough case?"

"Huh?"

"The case Tim, are you okay?"

"There was a happy ending, so there was something good."

"What happened?"

"Little girl was kidnapped by her aunt, just because of some stupid will."

"Oh Tim..."

"It's fine. Everything is fine."

"If you say so. There's pasta in the fridge if you're want it."

"Nah, I'm not hungry. So what did you actually do today?"

"Did some writing, took Jethro to the park. Someone told me I have a beautiful daughter."

Tim snorted, causing Sam to bounce a little on his chest. "I'm not surprised honestly. People jump to conclusions all the time."

"Except you top notch investigators right?"

"Absolutely"

"Do you remember that summer in Alameda, I was six and you were almost fifteen?"

"What about it?'

"You spent a whole week with me making up stories. One of them was a Detective story and then the next day I insisted we had to solve a crime?"

Tim smiled. "While you were having lunch I set up your room and told you someone had stolen your doll's shoes."

"It was my teddy bear" Sarah smiled fondly, remembering.

"I think mum was really concerned about us that day. A fifteen year old and a six year old solving the case of the missing shoes? Sounds like something a therapist would deal with."

"Are you suggesting we need a therapist?"

Tim shook his head. "Already seen far too many since I've been at NCIS. You on the other hand..."

"Hey!"

Their laughter caused Samantha to lift her head a tiny bit and gurgle a little before snuggling into her father's chest once more. Sarah reached and grabbed her coffee mug, wrapping her hands around it. She took a sip and folded her legs underneath her, looking at her brother.

"I don't think anyone else in the world would do that for their little sister," she mused.

**NCIS**

"Where's Samantha?" Where is she?" Whoop, there she is"

Tim laughed as Sam looked up at him with curious eyes. It was as if she was asking 'Dad, what _are_ you doing?'. The five week old baby girl was just getting to the stage where she liked to give whoever she was looking at a quick little smile before poking her little tongue out.

"Well someone's being cheeky. Oh, and now you're spitting at me."

Tim grabbed a small towel and wiped the spit from Samantha's mouth, pulled a new top over head and manoeuvred her arms through the little sleeves. Picking up her up he took her to the living room. Tony and Ziva were sitting on the sofa, having just brought lunch over.

"My turn to hold her," Ziva smiled, taking the girl from Tim.

"Our Israeli ninja is a clucky mother hen," Tony mused. "Hey, ow!"

Ziva smiled has Tony rubbed his ear. "Where is Sarah, Tim?"

"Out with her editor friends. She says she's taken time off but I swear she's basically working from home... well, her brother's home."

"I just had a thought," Tony said suddenly.

"Do I want to know?" Tim asked.

"Samantha would make a great wing-baby," Tony grinned.

"Ziva"

Ziva shifted Samantha to one arm and reached around the back of the sofa. She whacked Tony upside the head; a perfect imitation of a Gibbs slap.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"My daughter is not a wing-baby Tony."

The three of them talked for a while, Sam being passed around multiple times. The topic changed from work to babies to dogs to holidays. It even briefly went to their own childhoods but that conversation ended as quickly as it started. Tony was making funny faces at Sam when the baby girl spat on his hand.

"Gross! McGee, you need to teach your McBaby some McManners," the senior field agent complained.

Tim sighed. "She's five weeks old Tony. And McBaby? Seriously?"

"Hey, imagine the McNicknames I can come up with when she's older."

Ziva and Tim started their own conversation while Tony voiced his nickname ideas for Sam out loud. Eventually Ziva and Tony decided it was time to leave. They exchanged goodbyes and the two agents left. Not long after Tim closed the front door there was a knock. Tony was standing on the other side, grinning sheepishly.

"What did you do?" Tim asked.

"Well I didn't really _do _anything," Tony said.

"DiNozzo..."

"Okay, okay, I forgot my car keys."

Tim stepped to the side to let Tony inside the house. The senior field agent grabbed his car keys and headed back out the door. "See you tomorrow," Tony said.

"Bye Tony."

Tim carried Samantha to her room and put her down in her cot. "Tim for you to go to sleep Miss. I can see that you can barely keep your eyes open. Sweet dreams Samantha."

Tim leant over and kissed Sam on the forehead. As he left the room, Jethro came into it and took his place lying down next to Sam's cot. As he walked down the hallway he heard someone knock on the front door. He sighed; what had Tony forgotten now? He walked down the hallway and opened the door, smiling slightly.

"Seriously Tony, what did you-"

Tim froze as he stared at the person on his doorstep. Why... how.. what.. when... his mind was a jumble. He cleared his thoughts before speaking.

"What the hell are _you _doing here?!"

**Who is on Tim's doorstep? It's certainly not Sarah! Once again thanks for all your reviews, follows and favourites. The amount of support I have from you guys is amazing! Take a breath, have a keyboard,  
****Frani xx**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry for the delay guys. The last month has basically been exams, music camp, more tests and essays, so you get the picture. Sorry to disappoint you all but none of you guessed who was at the door! ENJOY! (NCIS is not mine, I have no courage to kill off characters) **

**Chapter Nine**

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?!".

Jared Milligan stood on Tim's doorstep, watching as the NCIS agent glared at him. Tim didn't even bother to wait for a response. He began to close the door on Jared. He didn't want to hear anything from the man who had almost given him a black eye. The door wouldn't close and sure enough the man put a hand on the door, stopping Tim from closing it.

"Please Agent McGee, I need your help."

"What could you possibly want my help for?"

"It's about Eliza"

"I am done with you and Eliza. Both of you abandoned my daughter."

"You're the one who got her pregnant."

"I'm not an idiot Jared, I know that. But if either of you had decided to tell me that when you found out then we wouldn't have a problem."

"Eliza really needs-"

"Is everything okay here?"

Tim looked over Jared's shoulder to see Sarah standing behind the man. She looked thoroughly confused but it was also easy to see that she knew something wasn't right. Sarah frowned at Jared. "I think you better go."

"Agent McGee..."

"Please just go," Tim said.

Sarah stepped to the side to let Jared pass, giving him a glare almost identical to the one Jared received from her brother. Once his sister entered the apartment Tim closed the door and lent against it. Sarah disappeared into the study before reappearing in front of Tim with her arms crossed. In that moment, Tim thought she looked a lot like their mother. "Well?"

"What?"

"Who was that?"

"Jared Milligan, Eliza's boyfriend."

"And what did he want?"

"Don't know, don't particularly care either."

"What? When have you ever not cared? You always care Tim."

"They abandoned Samantha. I think it's going to take me a while to forgive them."

"I just think you should hear what he has to say."

"And I think I need a little time."

"I understand Tim, I do. Now, what daycare are you sending Samantha to again?"

"The one at the yard, I told you that."

"Aw, not the one with the butterflies painted all over the building?"

"The one at the Navy Yard is designed for people who work there, especially NCIS employees. It's open from six till midnight, takes newborns to ten year olds and you don't have to allocate certain days your child is going to be there."

"But these are butterflies we're talking about Tim."

Tim rolled his eyes and headed into the kitchen to get a glass of water. He paced around the kitchen, talking small sips while he processed his thoughts. It was pretty stupid to not here Jared out, especially since it must have been important if Jared was willing to come after everything that had happened at the hospital. The only problem was every time Tim thought that there was another part of him not to anything.

"Who know that being a dad had more problems other than bottles, diapers and odd sleeping patterns," Tim muttered to himself.

"Did you say something Tim?" Sarah called.

"Uh... No!" Tim called back.

"Hey, what are you going to do with this bed after I leave tomorrow?"

"I dunno. I'll probably keep it for Samantha when she's older."

"Aw look at you already planning for when your baby's all grown up."

"It's a bed Sarah"

"Yeah but I know you're secretly planning everything so you don't have to worry about anything in the future. I know you Tim."

"Dispute what you may think, you are not a genie."

**NCIS**

Tim shook his head in an attempt to wake himself up. The elevator stopped and he walked out rubbing his eyes. Ziva was already at her desk ready through emails. She looked up as McGee sat down and her face slowly grew with concern.

"Is everything okay Tim? You look very tired."

"I didn't get much sleep last night," Tim explained.

"Did your McBaby keep you up all night McDaddy?" Tony asked, making his usual entrance.

Tim half-heartedly glared at Tony. "No. I had an unwelcome visitor after you guys left. Left me with a lot of thinking to do."

"Who was it? And do I need to go and pay them a visit?" Ziva asked, her fingers reaching slightly towards a paper clip.

"You don't need to anything Ziva. It was Jared Milligan."

"Who?"

"Eliza's boyfriend. The guy I fought with at the hospital last month."

"What did he want?" Tony asked.

"I didn't really give him time to say. It was something about Eliza though. I was up all night because I didn't know whether I did the right thing or not. I should have given him the chance to speak but the more I think about it the more that I can't forgive them both for just leaving Samantha."

"You have every right to take some time to think Tim," Ziva said.

Gibbs entered the bullpen at that moment, though it was obvious he had heard part of the conversation. "You do what you have to do for family McGee."

"Right Boss."

Tim managed to push the thoughts of Jared and Eliza to the back of his brain. The team worked silently on paperwork for most of the morning and even had Abby come up for some company for a bit. Just before lunch Tim packed up his things and asked Gibbs if he had time to go and visit Samantha. The team leader smiled slightly and nodded. The daycare was a five minute walk from NCIS, towards the back of the yard. There were a couple of Navy personnel spending their lunch break with their kids but as far as Tim could see he was the only member of NCIS there.

"Hello Agent McGee"

Tim smiled. "Hey Louis"

"We figured we'd see you here today. I remember my mum spending every spare second she could with us in a daycare just like this one."

Louis was a twenty year old college student who was getting his degree before enlisting in the Navy. When Tim had come in on the Saturday to look at the daycare he and Louis had found they had a lot in common; Navy families, a writing passion and a taste for jazz music. Except while Louis liked spending his days surrounded by kids Tim had already that one was enough.

"I suppose it's the parent rush hour at the moment huh?" Tim asked.

"Definitely," Louis replied. "Samantha's over there with Kayla and the other infants."

It astounded Tim that a woman could get at least six babies to lie in a sort of circle and sing to them without any rolling away. From what Louis told him Kayla had been at the daycare centre for fifteen years and had "a way with kids." In some ways Kayla reminded Tim if Gibbs.

"And here comes Sam's daddy," Kayla sang to finish the song.

Maybe not too much like Gibbs.

"Hi Agent McGee," Kayla lifted up Samantha and gave her to Tim. "She just had her bottle so she'll probably fall asleep soon."

"That's okay, I'm only here for a bit."

Tim spent fifteen minutes at the daycare before saying goodbye to his daughter and heading back to NCIS. When he got there he was met with the worried yet kind of sheepish faces of Tony and Ziva. Tim looked around to see if they had tried to play some sort of prank on him but they both looked genuinely worried and kind of... sorry.

"What happened?" he asked.

"McGee, we really tried to stop him and make him leave but he was so insistent," Tony began.

"He is with Gibbs right now and Gibbs can make him leave if you want him too," Ziva added.

"Guys, what are you talking about?"

Tony sighed. "Jared's here."

At the moment Gibbs came down the stairs with Jared, the man looking quite confused. They came over to the bullpen and Gibbs cocked his head slightly. "McGee?"

"It's okay Boss," Tim said, motioning for Jared to follow him. He lead him behind the staircase where no one could listen. "What do you want?"

"Okay so I know you're angry about Eliza and I practically dumping Samantha on you but you have to understand kids were something we weren't even thinking about let alone talking about and Eliza kind of freaked. She wouldn't even tell me who the father was for like three mon-"

"Jared, just get to the point because I know you're not here to apologise."

"Eliza's been acting strangely every since she had Sam so I talked to the doctor and he said she could be suffering from some sort of separation depression thing. He said it might help Eliza if she could see her baby sometimes." For someone who was willing to bash Tim up at the hospital Jared looked quite scared as he posed the unsaid question to Tim.

Tim sighed. "I'll have to think about it, okay?"

"Thank you Agent McGee."

"My name's Tim, Jared."

"Thanks Tim."

**NCIS**

"So when are you supposed to be able to let kids watch TV? Because I have about twenty movies Sam needs to see otherwise it will mess up her childhood."

Tim rolled his eyes. "Tony, babies aren't supposed to watch television until they're toddlers. Besides, if you to try and get Samantha to watch something now she wouldn't even be able to concentrate."

Tim and Tony exited the elevator together and walked through the carpark to their cars. "Shouldn't you be picking up Samantha?" Tony asked.

Tim shook his head. "Penny picked her up a few hours ago. She's in town for the week and she wanted to spend some 'quality time' with her great-granddaughter."

"I bet she loves the fact she's a great-grandmother."

"As long as you don't mention it to her."

"Right. See you tomorrow McGee."

"Bye Tony."

Tim headed to his car and unlocked it. He opened his door and chucked his bag in when he heard footsteps behind him. He quickly spun around, hand twitching towards his gun and then sighed. "Jared, what are you doing here?"

"Have you thought about it?"

"Jared, you were here yesterday. You need to give me more than thirty hours to think about it."

"Have we got a problem here?" Tony stood behind Jared, staring at their unwelcome visitor.

"Yes"

"No"

"Tim, Eliza really needs this."

"And I said I need time to think about it."

"Look, you need to leave," Tony reached out and grabbed Jared's arm. Before Tim could comprehend what was going on Jared spun around and punched Tony straight in the jaw.

"Don't touch me! You don't understand, Eliza needs help."

Jared reached to grab Tim, only for Tim to move out of the way and punch Jared the same way Tony had been punched. Tim grasped his hand and looked down at the two unconscious people at his feet. He sighed deeply and looked around the car park to see if anyone had seen what had happened. The car park was empty which Tim was grateful for, however he knew someone would be out soon to see the two unconscious men. Tim looked down at Tony and Jared and sighed again.

"Well this is brilliant."

**Honestly, I was aiming for no violence but CaptainMcSlash and I were talking on skype and one thing let to another so yeah... hope you're fine with it. Our next chapter will see Penny reacting to her son getting into a fist fight. What fun! Take a breath, have a keyboard,  
****Frani xx**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Well this definitely took longer than I thought. Oh well. Thanks for the favs, follows and reviews, this story has over a hundred follows and I'd like to say thanks to each and every one of you for reading my story. Oh, and I don't remember what the Emergency Department is called in America so I just called it the ER. Could someone let me know if I was right or not? ENJOY (Does it look like I know what's going to happen in season 11? I don't, therefore I don't own NCIS)**

**Chapter Ten**

When Tony opened his eyes he found himself in the ER at the hospital. The very same hospital they had been in a month ago to find Tim. He began to sit up, only to find pretty much all of his head was sore. Still, he decided to sit up and take a better look at his surroundings. A nurse entered the room and took a look at Tony's sheet. She was a middle aged woman and Tony could see the badge that named her Nurse Anders.

"Ah, awake again I see Agent DiNozzo," she said.

"Again?" Tony asked.

"You were awake when you came in here," Nurse Anders explained.

"No I wasn't... wait, I was," Tony remembered.

"It's okay if you're a bit fuzzy at the moment dear. You have minor concussion and a bruised jaw but the concussion is more from hitting the floor than the blow you received. Now just some basic questions. Name?"

"Anthony D. DiNozzo Junior."

"What day is it today?"

"Tuesday"

"What's your birth year?"

"1972"

"Your Job?"

"NCIS special agent."

"Who were you with just before you became unconscious?"

"Tim McGee and Jared Milligan."

"All correct. Now I know you've already been asleep but I want you wait an extra three hours before you go to bed tonight just to make sure there is no nausea or bad headaches."

"Okay. So I can go now?"

"Just sign here and then sign out at the desk. Your friend is waiting for you outside."

"Thanks Nurse Anders."

Tony signed the paper and grabbed his things before brushing the curtain aside and walking back down to the main ER room. Tim was waiting at the other end of the corridor, baby carrier at his feet and holding Samantha in his arms. As he approached Tony noticed that Tim's left hand was bandaged to the wrist. Tim looked up at the footsteps and cocked his head slightly. "You okay?"

"Me? I'm fine. You?"

Tim shrugged. "Busted my hand a little, I'll survive. You didn't have to come and step in you know."

"I know you can handle yourself Tim, but you don't need that idiot stalking you. Besides, I should be thanking you for knocking him out."

"Right. Gibbs is waiting for us outside."

"Gibbs?"

"What? You think I got you and Jared here by myself?"

"Good point. So how did Samantha get here?"

"Penny," Tim shuddered. "I haven't got a lecture like that since I was a kid."

"Ouch. C'mon, let's get out of here."

Tim let Tony sign himself out first before putting his daughter in her carrier and signing himself out. Together they walked outside to Tim's car where Gibbs was waiting in the driver's seat. Tim fastened the carrier to the seat and Tony slipped into the front. They drove silently for seconds, then minutes. Tony fidgeted in his seat, making Tim smile as it was clear the senior agent really wanted to say something.

"You got spiders in your pants or something DiNozzo?"

"Boss I know McGee and I shouldn't have-"

"Relax DiNozzo. McGee and I already had a talk with Mr Milligan."

"Really?"

Tim smirked. "We made a deal. He doesn't press charges against me, he leaves everyone alone and he gives me a week to give him an answer as long as you don't press charges against him, we don't tell Eliza what happened and he doesn't get charged for trespassing on the Navy Yard."

"Seems fair enough."

**NCIS**

"Okay Sarah, I heard you the first time."

"_It was still a stupid thing to do._"

"Yeah I know, but it was self defense."

"_I find it a little hard to believe that_."

"I'm sure you do. I have to get back to work now, I'll see you soon."

"_Bye Tim_."

"Bye Sarah."

Tim put his phone down and grimaced. Why did Penny have to tell Sarah what happened? He knew both of them cared for him but he really didn't need them hovering over his shoulder. Today he really didn't need anyone hovering over him. He had an important decision to make, one he wasn't going to take lightly. Tim hadn't faced such an internal battle in a long time.

"McGee, what have you got for me?"

Tim handed Gibbs a folder as the team leader walked past. "The Petty Officer's bank records and statements are clean but his phone is where it gets interesting. He called the same number at seven o'clock every night for the past three months. The length of the calls vary but they're never over ten minutes long."

"Did you run the number?"

"It's running now."

"Where are Ziva and DiNozzo?"

"They're talking to Ryan's CO."

Gibbs nodded and headed off to do what ever he was going to do; probably check on Tony and Ziva. Tim glanced at his computer screen to make sure the search was still running before looking at his phone. On his phone was an unsent text message he'd written in the morning, just waiting for him to press the send button. Getting rid of the distraction, he deleted the whole message and pushed the phone aside. His computer then started to make various noises, letting him know that the search was done. Tim printed off the results and headed upstairs to find Gibbs. He found Gibbs, Tony and Ziva walking out of the conference room.

"Boss, I ran the number and got a name. The Petty Officer was calling Seaman Julian Stewart every night. I searched around and the last time they met was when they were on the U.S.S Normandy together. Three months ago."

"Where's Seaman Stewart?"

"He's been on base for the past two weeks. He has time off for another three before he heads out on the U.S.S Seahawk."

"DiNozzo, you're coming with me. Ziva, McGee, see what Abby has got so far."

The team went separate ways, with Tony and Gibbs going to grab their gear and Tim and Ziva heading towards the elevator. On the way down Tim noticed Ziva quickly glancing at his hand several times, as if she wasn't sure whether to say something or not. It had been three days since he and Tony had their confrontation with Jared and while he could still type, write and shoot with his hand he still had to have it bandaged. He and Tony appreciated that the team didn't say anything though he could tell that they, especially Ziva and Abby, did want to say something. Smirking, he eventually decided to enlighten Ziva.

"My hand's fine, you know."

"You still have it bandaged."

"Because I have to."

"Why?"

"I dunno Ziva, ask Ducky."

"Maybe I will."

"Ziva, I'm fine, Tony's fine, hell even Jared is fine. By the end of this week I'm going to have this whole situation sorted out and no matter what I choose everything will be fine again. Can we just go and solve this case?"

**NCIS**

Yet again, Tim found himself staring at his phone again. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, ready to type out a few simple words. Simple words, but words that could change everything. He sighed and dismissed the phone, going back to the work he was supposed to be doing. The Petty Officer's computer had very little protection and it was quite easy to get into. Now all Tim was doing was going through millions of files and hours of internet history. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't here Abby call his name multiple times.

"McGee!"

"What? Sorry Abbs, I was just thinking."

"About Jared and Eliza?"

"I'm that easy to read huh?"

"You're getting better but considering what's happened in the past few days, it's not hard to guess what you're thinking about."

Tim spun in his chair to face his friend. "I don't know what to do Abbs."

"I assume you're not talking about the computer," Abby said, sitting down next to Tim. "What do you want Tim?"

Tim snorted. "If this was about me I would tell Eliza and Jared to get lost. But it's not about me. However, I don't want Samantha to have a mum who just floats in and out of her life but I don't want her to never know her mum."

"I know you Tim, and I know you'll make the right decision for Sammy. If you want my advice though I'll tell you this. You're the one who had custody, you're the single dad, you can basically make up the rules."

"I just have this feeling that no matter what decision I make, Sam's going to hate me when she's older."

"McGee, you're a good dad. Samantha can't hate you for doing your job."

"Thanks Abbs."

"No problem. Now c'mon, I think I solved the case."

Tim got up and started to follow Abby out of the room only to stop and pull out his phone. Finally he knew what to say. His fingers flew across the touch screen, typing the simple words that created a message that changed everything. Well not everything, but definitely a lot of things. Biting his lip, his thumb hovered over the send button for a few seconds before he pressed it, sending the message to it's recipient.

_Jared,  
I've made my decision  
Tim._

**Personally I think it's pretty obvious what his decision is, but let me know what your guess is! I don't think this story has much to go but let me know if there's some sort of story line or idea you want me to think about. I am thinking about a sequel, just to let you know. Take a breath, have a keyboard,  
Frani xx **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Kind of short chapter here, and it's a bit rushed so sorry for any stupid mistakes. There's probably about two or three chapters left, not sure yet. ENJOY! (NCIS is not mine, I wish I was kidding.)**

**Chapter Eleven**

When Tim's alarm went off he groaned and pushed himself up into a sitting position. He went through his usual motions of showering, getting dressed and eating breakfast before heading into Samantha's room. The six week old was wide awake, staring straight at the mobile hanging above the crib. Her head turned slightly when she eventually registered the presence of her father and she focused on his face.

"Hey there," Tim smiled, lifting her out of the crib. "You ready for this Samantha? Your mum's coming over today. Jared is too but we can't help that."

After giving her a bottle and changing her into a clean jumpsuit Tim put Samantha in her chair in the living room. The NCIS Agent had gone over his decision multiple times, weighing the pros and cons of each situation over and over again. He was finally confident with his decision that Samantha should keep in contact with her mum as she grew up and if it helped Eliza in some way he wasn't going to complain. Jared was an different story though. He didn't like the man at all, especially after he decided to punch one of his best friends, but he supposed he was willing to tolerate him... maybe.

Just before lunch there was a knock at the door. Tim picked Sam up before walking over and opening the door. He was surprised to only see Eliza at the door, apparently without Jared. "Hey Eliza."

"Hi. Hey Samantha, look at you!" Eliza let Sam wrap her hand around her finger. "Can I..."

"Sure," Tim handed his... _their_ daughter over. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Tea if you have any."

Tim headed to the kitchen to put the kettle on. "So no Jared then?"

"No, um... I broke up with him."

"What?" Tim almost dropped the mug he was holding. "Really?"

Eliza sat down on the couch, still cradling Samantha in her arms. "I found out what he did to get you to let me see Samantha. I don't know why that idiot thought he could get away with it. He's lost the trust I had in him, I mean what if he really hurt you and your friend? And then Samantha didn't have her dad anymore? I know he was trying to help me but he went way too far."

"I don't think he could have killed Tony and I."

"I wouldn't put it past him, but I suppose you're right."

Tim handed Eliza a cup of tea. "You guys seemed really happy together, I'm sorry it didn't work out."

"Oh believe me, so am I. What's that noise?"

Tim tilted his head slightly, questioning what noise Eliza was hearing. He then heard a scratching at the back door. Chuckling slightly he walked down the hallway to the back door and opened it up, letting Jethro bolt down to the living room. When he saw Eliza holding Samantha he started barking. "Hey, Jethro! Stop that! You know Eliza."

The dog looked between Tim and Eliza before lying down on the floor. Tim fetched his own mug of coffee from the kitchen before sitting down in the armchair. Jethro walked over to his owner and sat at his feet, watching Eliza with Samantha. "You remember Jethro right?" Tim asked Eliza.

"Sure, your ex-marine sniffer dog. He's very protective, isn't he?"

"That he is. Barks at everyone he hasn't seen Sam with before."

"I'm glad to see she's so well looked after. Thank you Tim, I don't think I could have done any of this."

"You probably could of, if you really tried."

"That's the thing, I wouldn't of. Because as much as I love Samantha and love the idea I have a daughter, I'm not cut out to be a mother. You on the other hand, it's pretty clear that you were destined to be a father. It looks like you've done an amazing job so far."

"You're just saying that."

"No I'm not. Hey, could I see her room? I want to see what it looks like."

"Sure."

Tim led Eliza down the hallway to Sam's room. His ex smiled as she entered, turning around in a circle so she could see everything. "It's so pretty. You did all of this?"

"I wish I did," Tim answered. "I got home to find that my team mates had completely done her room up. They painted it, set up the furniture and helped me put all of her things away."

"Seems like there are a lot of people who care about you Samantha," Eliza told her baby girl.

**NCIS**

Eliza spent the majority of the day at the apartment. They discussed everything from work to daycare to coffee shops. Tim was glad he hadn't made a mistake. Eliza was a good friend even before they started dating and it was good to see that while they'd never be a couple again they're friendship was still intact. Even if it made them friends who had a kid together. When Samantha was put down for her afternoon nap Eliza decided it was time to leave.

"Thanks for this Tim, I can't tell you how much it means to me."

"Sam deserves to have her mother in her life. I wasn't really doing this for you."

"I know, but you care and that's what's important."

"Well call me when you have a free day and you can see her again."

"I don't think that's going to happen soon. I was offered a position at a restaurant in San Francisco. I was supposed to go with Jared, but I'll just be heading off by myself now."

Tim knew Eliza used to be a chef, but moved into the secretarial line of work a few years before they met. "Wow, that's great Eliza. I mean, a great job opportunity."

"I know what you mean. I was thinking about coming back for Christmas, since my parents are in New Jersey. How about something around then?"

"Sure, sounds great."

"Thanks again for everything Tim. It means the world."

Tim shook his head. "It's nothing."

Eliza slipped her coat on and headed out the door. Tim headed back into the living room and fell back onto the sofa. _It could have gone worse, _he thought, running a hand through his hair. He was almost a hundred percent sure he had done the right thing now and he was grateful that everything hadn't gone sour. What surprised him was the fact that he and Eliza hadn't fought once the entire time she was there. He was about to go and check on Samantha when he phone started to ring.

"McGee"

"_Timmy! How did everything go_?"

"Hi Abby. Fine, it was fine."

"_You guys didn't start arguing in front of Samantha did you? Because that's not good_."

"No, we actually kind of got along."

"Wow"

"My thoughts exactly. Er... hang on a second Abbs, I have another call coming through."

"Okay"

Tim put Abby on hold and answered the call coming through. "Hello?"

"_Tim! Tim he... he was here when I got home and he hit me and-_"

"Eliza? Eliza what happened?"

"_He was at my home and... Oh My God, I think I'm bleeding_."

"Who hurt you?"

"_Jared_"

**I wanted to give Jared a proper ending, even if the ending makes him a total ass. But hey, he is an ass. As always, I love to hear your theories and suggestions so don't be afraid to share! Take a breath, have a keyboard,  
****Frani xx**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hey everyone! As always, thanks for your support, whether you reviewed, faved or followed. This is the last chapter before the epilogue and I hope it ties up most of the loose ends. ENJOY! (NCIS is not mine, I'd probably lock all the cast up somewhere so they couldn't leave if it was.)**

**Chapter Twelve**

"Eliza! Eliza it's Tim, open up!"

The door to the small apartment opened to reveal Eliza, pale and shaking slightly. She had a cut lip, blood dripping from her nose and a bruised jaw, all of which seemed to have already started to heal. She offered him a small smile and stepped to the side so he could go inside. Tim looked around; the place was pretty much how he remembered it. Though, he had not been there many times before. He went straight to the freezer and pulled out a package of frozen vegetables. Handing it to Eliza, he steered her towards the couch and sat her down.

"What happened?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

"He was here when I got home. He got so angry and just lashed out. He thought we were going to be a family," Eliza sniffed a little. "Where's Samantha?"

"With the elderly couple in one of the apartments below mine. They've got around ten grandchildren, she'll be fine."

"Good. Thank you for coming. When he left I just didn't know what to do, I was bleeding and I was terrified he was going to come back. Why would he do this? He was such a sweet guy, always looking out for me, always telling me how much he loved me. Why would he do this?"

Tim was suddenly reminded of the nights he spent comforting Sarah when a boy had decided to break her heart. Mind you, the sadness usually ended after a minute or two and was replaced by anger and rage. Tim spent a lot of that time trying to stop his little sister from coming up with ways to get back at her ex. "Some people just snap. There's nothing we can do about it."

"What if he comes back?"

"Why are you so sure he'll come back? Did he threaten you?"

"..."

"Eliza?"

"He just said one day I was really going to regret sending him away, and that he'd make sure of it. It's not really a threat Tim, not really."

"Not really? He's basically telling you that you're going to pay for what you did. Where is he now?"

"I don't know."

"Where does he live then?"

"Tim, don't go and start fighting with him. I don't want a repeat of last week."

"Neither to I. Look, I just want to talk to him. I promise I'll walk away if there's any sign of violence."

Eliza sighed and wrote down the address on a scrap piece of paper. Tim told her he'd be back before he left the apartment. Jared didn't leave far away and it didn't take Tim long to get there. The man live an a small house on the east side of DC. It was a little run down, but pretty decent for a man who lived by himself. Tim walked up to the front door and knocked on it, forcing himself not to bash it down. The door opened and Jared stood on the other side. He had a thin cut on his left cheek that was still bleeding a little. Tim had to suppress a smile; Eliza must have fought back.

"Yes?" Jared said.

Tim took a deep breath. "Why did you go after Eliza like that?"

"You don't understand."

"You don't have to tell me that, I haven't understood pretty much everything that has happened between you, me and Eliza in the last two months."

"Look, I was angry. I apologised and I left. What more do you want?"

"I want you gone."

"Gone? What if Eliza wants me back?"

"Excuse me? You hit her for no particular reason other than you were angry. This is what's going to happen. I'm going to recommend to Eliza that she gets a restraining order against you. Whether that happens or not, if I find out that you followed her to the west coast a restraining order is going to be the least of your problem. You're also going to stay away from my daughter, so I highly recommend getting out of DC."

"You can't force me to do that."

"You're right, I can't. But I'm the one with the badge, so there are strings I can pull." Tim took a step forward so he was eye to eye with Jared. "I'll put everything in simple words for you. Stay away from my family."

**NCIS **

"I told you we were going to be fine," Tim told Samantha late the next night. The baby girl was having one of those nights when she just decided she didn't want to go to sleep. However, since she'd slept a few times during the day Tim wasn't too worried. She stared up at him like he was the most fascinating thing in the world. Tim stuck his tongue at her, just to see if she would copy. Sure enough, her little pink tongue poked out of her mouth a few seconds later. He chuckled softly, only to have Samantha give him a big smile.

"Hey, look at that, you're smiling now!"

Tim grabbed his phone off the counter and took a picture. He knew that Sarah would definitely want to see the first time her niece smiled, probably Abby too. Putting Samantha in her chair, he headed into the study. He swore he heard his computer make some sort of sound before and he decided to check on it. There was a little read one above his email icon. He clicked on it and sighed when he saw who it was from.

_Hi Timothy,  
How are you dear? It's been a while since you called us, we'd love to hear from you. Your Dad's assignment in Alameda finishes next year and he's been telling me his next one might be on the east coast. That'll be good, won't it?  
Anyway, it's Christmas next month and I was hoping you and Sarah would come and visit sometime around then. Your Dad and I have an even to attend on the actual day but how about coming over for Christmas Eve or Boxing Day? I know you have work and Sarah often makes plans with her college friends but maybe try and make a bit of an effort this year, we both really want to see you guys.  
Call as soon okay?  
Love, Mum. _

Tim sighed and typed a quick reply, telling his mum there'd be a huge chance he would have to work or they would be a case around Christmas. Which was true, so it wasn't like he was lying. Tim sighed and clicked the send button before leaving the study. He was not starting another drama so soon after finishing one. Actually, he was finished with dramas all together.

Until Sam became a teenager, that would be a whole different drama.

**Stay tuned for the epilogue! I'm also thinking of a sequel but I'm not really sure about it. Would you guys like a sequel? On another note, this is going to be my last story in the NCIS fandom for a while so don't be concerned if you can't find me for a while (pfft, like you'd be concern). Take a breath, have a keyboard.  
Frani xx **


	13. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

Hey everyone.

I know we're note supposed to have author's notes as chapter but I feel as though I owe an explanation to you guys.

So basically my laptop crashed and because it's from my school it's gone to the school's IT department. They've told me they'll try to get everything back from the hard drive but there's a chance everything will be deleted. Everything includes _ALL_ of my stories, even the last chapter of this one. Because I'm an idiot, there is no other copy of these files. I was so close to finishing the epilogue of this story, and now I don't have it anymore.

So until I find out whether everything has been deleted or not I'm not going to try rewriting the chapter.

So basically I'm going to be on hiatus for now until I either get everything back or find out I have to rewrite everything.

I'm really sorry guys, thanks for all your support and kind words. Take a breath, have a keyboard,  
**Frani xx**


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